Coupling coordination relationship and influencing factors between green water use efficiency and new urbanization in the Huaihe River Ecological Economic Belt, China

Promoting the coordinated symbiosis of green water-use efficiency (GWUE) and new urbanization (NU) performs a vital function in facilitating high-quality development in China. Based on the panel data of 28 cities in the Huaihe River Ecological Economic Belt (HREEB) from 2011 to 2020, this study first evaluates GWUE and NU, and then uncovers their spatio-temporal evolutionary characteristics. On this basis, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, ordinary panel model, and spatial econometric model are used to analyze evolution pattern and driving factors of CCD between GWUE and NU. The results show that: (1) GWUE exhibits a modest downward trend, with the lower reaches being much higher than the middle and upper reaches. (2) NU has increased overall by 43.65%, showing a northeastern high and a southwesterly low spatial distribution. (3) CCD is rising, with the high-value areas mainly distribute in the Yangzhou–Taizhou region and the Southern Shandong region, while the low-value areas concentrate in the middle and upper reaches. (4) The spatial econometric model analysis shows that industrial structure, technological level, and water resource management contribute significantly directly to the CCD, but the spillover effects are markedly different. © 2024 The Authors.